Young He Was and Yet Not So
by Sapphire-BlueStar
Summary: Everyone knows Tezuka looks really, and I mean really mature for his age. So what is Tezuka's own thoughts about his um, appearance?


                                         Young He Was and Yet Not So

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Prince Legolas entered the scene, in slow motion. The most handsome blond-haired elf ever to grace the silver screen of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, smiled. 

And all who belonged to the female species in the dark theatre, sighed.

_"And what would the teacher like to have?"_

_"I'm the captain, Tezuka."_

Tezuka stared at the wide screen. J.R.R.Tolkien described elves as being both aged and youthful at the same time, happy and sad. Now that didn't seem very fair to him, although it was true for certain individuals. There are people who look very young for their age, and yet have passed the 40th mark. There are others who are actually very young, but yet look like they have experienced thousands of winters. 

_"Are you sure you a junior high school student?"_

_"Very sure."_

He clenched his hands once, twice, and a third time. He had always been very confident of his appearance; in fact, he knew that he is good-looking and handsome for a 15-year-old boy. Maybe he looked just a little bit mature for his age. 

"Buchou, are you okay?" the keen-eyed Ryoma asked from his left.

"What's wrong?" Oishi asked from the other side of Tezuka.  

"Nothing. I'm fine," Tezuka replied in his usual cool manner.

"Oh?" Ryoma eyed him carefully. "You look stressed out." 

Tezuka continued to stare ahead at the wonderful Legolas on the screen, who was now talking to Frodo the hobbit. "Echizen, would you like to run 30 laps now?"

"Tezuka, this is a cinema…"Oishi said.

"If you don't mind, I would like to watch the movie," said Inui, who was sitting beside Oishi. His most important treasure, the green notebook was open on his lap. He held a small hand torch with his left hand, and a pen with his right. The powerful beam of light shone down on the papers, forming a narrow pool of yellow light just enough for him to write his data and not disturb the audience around him.

Oishi blinked his eyes, genuinely bewildered. "What data can you take out of this movie?"

Inui turned to him, in slow motion. A flash of incandescent light from the movie screen lit up Inui's face briefly, casting a long shadow before Oishi's face. The latter gulped. "Inui?"

"Lots of data," the data-tennis player replied finally, and he looked past Oishi and zoomed in on Tezuka. "Right, Tezuka?"

Tezuka did not answer him. The bespectacled junior high school tennis player placed all his concentration on the screen. _Does Inui know? _

Inui pushed the dark-rimmed glasses up his nose, and scribbled down more notes. Oishi looked at him, at Tezuka, then back at him again. Then he turned his head to Ryoma, who was also looking at him with an raised eyebrow. Neither of them understood what the hell was going on, nor could they make any sensible conclusion out of it. 

And so all four boys returned to watching the movie, Inui mumbling occasionally. Tezuka could not silence his restless thoughts. They kept coming back, ceaselessly, endlessly, like waves in a thunderstorm night. The movie was too long, and someone was making too much noise.

"Echizen."

"Hmm?" Ryoma looked up innocently at him, still munching on his bag of popcorn.

And like the murderous lightning on the same thunderstorm night, he recalled something Tolkien had described about one of the elves. It was a simple sentence, but it described all. It was his favourite sentence, but why couldn't he remember it now? What sentence was it? Maybe it had something to do with the popcorn. 

"Can I have some popcorn?"

Ryoma blinked, paused, and stopped munching. He held the popcorn out to Tezuka. 

"Thank you," said Tezuka.

_"Are you going for overseas work, Mister?"_

_"No. I'm a student."_

_"Oh, so you are university student?"_

Tezuka took one tiny popcorn kernel, a second one, and then a handful of them. Oishi glanced quickly at him. _Is Tezuka all right? Is his arm hurting again?_ Inui studied his strongest Seigaku opponent seriously and proceeded to write down something. "Tezuka likes popcorn…"he mumbled to himself yet again. 

_What sentence is it? What is it?_

"Buchou…can we share the popcorn?" Ryoma asked tentatively. Tezuka looked down and realized he had unknowingly snatched the bag of popcorn over from Ryoma. Embarrassed, he returned the bag to Ryoma and muttered a meek "Sorry" to his junior. By then, Oishi has become very, very worried for his captain.

"Tezuka, is something wrong? Is it your arm? Tell me, and I can help you," Oishi said.

"I'm fine, Oishi. I'm only hungry," Tezuka answered spontaneously, without a second thought. 

"Hungry?" Oishi repeated his word, trying to make sense out of it. Tezuka, hungry?

"Tezuka gets hungry easily…" Inui bent down to make another note. 

Oishi smiled in relief. Though it did not seem like Tezuka's usual behaviour, he could understand how one reacted when he or she is extremely hungry. Eiji always behaved more childishly when food or his empty stomach was concerned. "Ok, then we'll have dinner once this movie is over."

Tezuka nodded. _What sentence is it? What did he write about that elf?_

_"Look, Tezuka papa, I bought this new anti-aging SK-II cream!"_

_"How much is it?"_

_"Well, it's very effective."_

_"How much is it?_

And he still couldn't recall it even after the movie had ended. 

* * *

The bathroom has always been a comforting place to be in, a clandestine compartment where you can do many things in secret, many things unknown to even your closest family members. And it was in here that Tezuka made a very important decision.

He stared at the new anti-aging SK-II face cream that his mother had bought yesterday. The pure white tube of smooth green cream, the precious five-inch long tube that made his father almost die of shock. Tezuka stared at his reflection in the mirror. He liked his features. He didn't hate the way he looked, but neither was he in love with his looks. He merely felt a little, only a little, bothered by his maturity and what people thought of him.

_Use me, _the new SK-II cream beseeched him in a Gollum-like voice.

Tezuka widened his eyes and he cast furtive glances around the bathroom. Was that his imagination? Anti-aging creams do not, and cannot talk at all. It is impossible, beyond human logic.

Use me Tezuka…You'll LOVE the result… 

Tezuka stared at the cream, and he stared and he stared and he stared. It must be that Lord of the Rings movie affecting him mentally. He should stick with Harry Potter next time. His heart itched and he tried to calm it down with all the coolness he possessed in his blood. However, the lure of the cream cannot be easily denied. 

Slowly, he reached out for it, but he drew his hand back before his fingers could come into contact with the plastic tube. Somehow, he did not feel very safe. 

_Just use me…Try it, you have nothing to lose._

The cream is right. He has nothing to lose. If it works, it works. If does not work, it does not work. Very simple logic. He touched his face lightly and frowned. _Tezuka, make a decision! Be strong! _ He chided himself. After what seemed like a century, he grabbed the tube, untwisted the cap and squeezed out the moss-green cream. He had overheard his mother teaching her friend how to use the cream so he knew exactly how to use it for maximum effect. 

"Kuni-dear! Are you done?" his mother called from outside.

"Sorry, I have a bad stomachache. I'll be done in 20 minutes."

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"Sorry dear, I have an urgent meeting so I can't go to the party with you," Tezuka's father said apologetically to his wife. 

"It doesn't matter. Kuni-dear can go with me," she said.

"Ok, I shall go now. Have a good time!"

"Be careful!"

"Be careful," Tezuka said to his father. 

His mother turned to him. "We should be going too. Are you ready?"

"Hai," he said. He was ready long ago and he had been waiting for his mother to be ready. He was dressed in an all-white ensemble and as usual, not a strand of his brown hair was out of place. In fact, he had made an extra effort to look even more presentable tonight. 

His mother studied him for a moment. "You look different. Maybe it's just me. Ok, let's go!"

They arrived at the birthday party of Tezuka's aunt at seven o'clock sharp. Tezuka's mother burst in and mingled with her relatives and friends. Her son politely greeted all his elders. He allowed himself to be dragged around by his mother as she introduced her son as a famous tennis player to some family members whom she has not seen in ages.

"I haven't seen you in such a long time! How have you been?" Tezuka's mother exclaimed.

"I'm fine, in good health! It's so nice to see you again and oh, who is this handsome young man? Your new lover?" the unknown friend teased her. 

She laughed. "No, this is my son, Kunimitsu. I think it has been three years since you last saw him."

"My, he has grown to be such a good-looking young man!"

"And he is Seigaku's best tennis player! I am so proud of him."

Tezuka turned to his mother. "May I please be excuse?"

"Sure, go talk to your cousins." 

Tezuka excused himself again and went out to stand at the porch instead. Night had arrived and he could see the silvery crescent moon high up in the sky. There were hardly any stars tonight, and a light breeze blew at his hair every now and then. He inhaled deeply and smiled.

"It's so nice to see you again and oh, who is this handsome young man? 

The cream worked, and the woman had called him "young". She even had this envious and predatory expression on her face when she looked him over just now. This feeling was as good as having won first place in the National Tournament. Mission accomplished. 

He remembered. Yes, he finally remembered the sentence that Tolkien had written. It was about Arwen, the Elf Princess. 

_Young she was and yet not so._

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Author's note: Another short story that I finally find time to write! Heh, I know it's not very good but it's just for fun. Part of the idea of this story comes from my friend, who has lots of weird ideas that she never writes down. Her idea this time round is hilarious (about the anti-aging cream) and I have a sudden inspiration to write it. Ok Lynnette, I finally wrote a story out of one of your ideas! Am I great or something? ^-^


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